Boom!
Just as Natsu and Gray were about to start a brawl to "teach each other a lesson," a heavy wooden beam slammed into their sides, flattening them into the dirt so that only their heads stuck out.
"Hey, you two we're rebuilding the guild. Could you at least pretend to be serious?"
Erza's voice was sharp as she slowly withdrew the wooden beam from her hands. She was wearing a yellow safety helmet and sturdy work clothes that made her look like a professional foreman.
"Yes, ma'am!" Natsu and Gray's eyes cleared in an instant.
"Love~! I feel like this is a game of whack-a-mole," Happy muttered under his breath.
Once they had calmed down, Erza turned toward Makarov, who was using his Giant magic to place a massive beam into position. "Foreman, where should I put these wooden planks?"
"Oh, Team Leader Erza, just stack them with the rest of the materials over there," the giant-sized Makarov replied with a grin.
Their new "construction site" titles earned a few chuckles and muttered comments from Macao and the others it almost felt like the Fairy Tail guild had been replaced by a team of builders.
Meanwhile, behind a large pile of building supplies, a pair of sparkling eyes peeked out, locked onto the top of Gray's head.
"Ahhh… Juvia also wants to be buried in the ground with Gray-sama… Then Juvia could give Gray-sama children! Lots of children!"
Her face flushed pink, and she twisted her body with giddy excitement. In her mind's eye, a perfectly filtered image of Gray appeared complete with sparkles followed by scenes far too bold to be shared in public.
Her imagination leapt forward at a terrifying speed.
Phantom Lord's members had been released from custody the night before, just like Fairy Tail's after paying the Council's hefty fines.
Only Master Jose, who had instigated the war, remained in custody, taken away by the Council's inspection team.
In the end, a guild was simply an organization where mages took on jobs.
If trouble started, the one held responsible was always the master, who oversaw and guided the guild's actions. Makarov, for example, had often been forced to clean up after Chase, Natsu, and the others' messes.
From that perspective, the Council's control over regular mages was actually quite loose.
Gray, having just crawled out of the dirt, suddenly felt a strange sensation and looked up in the direction where Juvia had been hiding.
No one was there.
"…Weird. I could've sworn I was being watched," he muttered, frowning.
Seeing only construction workers nearby, Gray dismissed the thought and returned to his work though under Erza's watchful eye, that "work" was also still a low-key competition with Natsu.
The morning hours slipped away quickly, and before long, the sun was high and noon was approaching.
During the bustle of the morning, Natsu and Happy had stumbled upon a mysterious love bento of unknown origin. Sharing it with Erza, the three of them gave it an enthusiastic thumbs-up.
Gray, on the other hand, sat frozen in horror. His bento had been… tampered with. The rice ball inside had been molded perfectly into the shape of his own face, leaving him too disturbed to take even a bite.
"Natsu, Gray have either of you seen Chase?"
Amid the noise, Mira walked over in a burgundy dress, holding a brightly colored sketch in her hands.
"I wanted him to be the first to see my newest design," she said, her blue eyes sparkling with anticipation.
Gray glanced down at the cheerful, childlike doodle and immediately pressed his lips shut, refusing to comment.
"I dunno. Haven't seen that guy all day," Natsu replied without a second thought.
"That's strange. Chase is usually the first to show up for something like this," Happy said, tilting his head in confusion.
"Now that you mention it… yeah, that is weird."
Erza, calmly stabbing the "eyeball" of Gray's rice-ball face with a fork, popped it into her mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
Gray's own eyes twitched in silent agony.
"I see. Well, if you do run into him, please tell me!"
With no luck here, Mira left to ask the other guild members, her disappointment showing in her hurried steps.
After swallowing her food, Erza's gaze swept the area. "Come to think of it… it's not just Chase. I don't see Lucy anywhere either."
Gray's eyes suddenly felt even heavier and more pained.
"Love~ Lucy should still be at home," Happy piped up, raising his paw.
"Yeah, no kidding! She kicked us out super early this morning I bet she's still in bed!" Natsu grumbled, remembering the scene all too clearly.
"In that case, why don't we go check her place?" Gray suggested.
Though this was his hometown, the construction site felt… off today.
"Alright. Besides, the foreman said lunch break is coming up soon," Erza agreed.
Truthfully, lunch was just an excuse she was more concerned about Lucy's safety. The Phantom Lord incident was still fresh in her mind.
As for Chase? Erza didn't spare him a thought. If he was missing, the only ones who should be concerned were any unlucky strangers who crossed his path and the Master himself.
After notifying Makarov, the group left the construction site. From a dark corner, Juvia watched them go, her eyes lingering wistfully on Gray.
They soon arrived at Lucy's rental home.
In true Fairy Tail fashion, Natsu climbed in through the window, Gray slipped in through the fireplace chimney, and Erza… appeared from nowhere, using a method best left unexplained.
One thing was certain none of them used the front door.
The house was silent. Without Lucy's familiar voice rising in exasperation, the emptiness felt strangely wrong.
They searched every corner, but Lucy was nowhere to be found.
Instead, Happy discovered a stack of letters in the mailbox letters Lucy had written to her late mother, but never sent.
"No need to keep looking," he said quietly. "Lucy told me she wanted to go home."
At last, it was Erza who found the small folded note hidden beneath the ink bottle on Lucy's desk.
"What? Go home?!" Natsu, Gray, and Happy all exclaimed at once, the same realization striking them together.
The guild had only just begun its reconstruction so the "home" Lucy wanted to return to could only mean…
"Yes," Erza confirmed gravely. "The note clearly says Lucy has returned to the Heartfilia mansion."
"No way! Lucy hates that place!" Natsu's voice rose, panic obvious in his tone.
"Perhaps… she doesn't want the Heartfilia Konzern to cause trouble for the guild again," Gray offered.
"You've gotta be kidding! Then we'll just go bring her back! Lucy's our partner!!" Natsu shouted, eyes blazing.
When it came to their nakama, there was no room for hesitation. Without another word, they headed straight for Magnolia Station.
Meanwhile, Lucy now dressed in casual clothes sat quietly in a train carriage, gazing out at the rapidly passing scenery with a complicated expression.
Elsewhere, Chase was already ahead of her. Traveling on the back of the City-Guarding Pterosaur, his speed far surpassed the train's. He had reached the Heartfilia mansion long before Lucy would arrive.
In the grand and opulent study, Jude Heartfilia sat behind a polished mahogany desk, scowling down at a report detailing Phantom Lord's defeat.
"What a bunch of incompetents! They couldn't even take down Fairy Tail, and they dare call themselves the strongest guild in Fiore?!"
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. With a sharp slam of his fist, he struck the sturdy desk, sending the neat stacks of documents scattering across the floor.
Grinding his teeth, he began to contemplate using his wealth to hire multiple guilds to forcibly bring Lucy back.
But then… the atmosphere in the room shifted. The air seemed to grow unnaturally still.
His eyes narrowed. "Who's there?!"
In the shadowed corner of the room, the folds of a dark blue cloak swayed faintly. From the darkness, Chase stepped forward at a deliberate pace.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Jude Heartfilia."
....
Keep supporting me with you comments and reviews if you like the story please drop a power stone and your support is very much appreciated. If we reach 100 power stone I will release 5 extra chapters.
Want to read 40+ chapters ahead , share your fandom thoughts, or just fuel my translation caffeine habit? or if you want to support me please Join me on Patreon here! :
patreon.com/Keep_ItUp